Equinor Energy AS agreed to a 10-year gas supply agreement with Poland’s PGNiG, the company said in a Sept. 23 release.
The agreement calls for the supply of 2.4 bcm/year (bcmy) of gas from the Norwegian Continental Shelf to be exported through the new Baltic Pipe, which connects the Norwegian gas export system to Poland via Denmark and facilitates flow of Norwegian pipeline gas to Poland.
Volumes under the new, long-term agreement are equivalent to around 15% of the typical, annual gas consumption in Poland. The agreement runs January 2023 to January 2033.
The pipeline—a joint project of Polish GAZ-SYSTEM and Danish Energinet—is expected to begin operations Oct. 1. Beginning in 2023, the pipeline will enable transportation of about 10 bcmy, of which PGNiG has reserved about 8 bcmy, the company said in a separate release Sept. 23.
According to PGNiG, 3 bcm of gas delivered via the Baltic Pipe will be supplied from PGNiG’s own Norwegian Continental Shelf production with an expected increase to 4 bcmy by 2027.
As part of an ongoing strategy to move away from Russian-supplied gas, PGNiG has signed contracts with suppliers operating on the Norwegian Continental Shelf to utilize the remainder of the reserved capacity, including the recent agreement with Equinor.
In April, Gazprom notified Poland that it would stop gas supplies to the European country because Poland would not pay for gas in rubles per the Russian energy giant's order. Poland's 10 bcmy contract with Gazprom was set to expire at yearend (OGJ Online, Apr. 27, 2022).
About the Author
Mikaila Adams
Managing Editor, Content Strategist
Mikaila Adams has 20 years of experience as an editor, most of which has been centered on the oil and gas industry. She enjoyed 12 years focused on the business/finance side of the industry as an editor for Oil & Gas Journal's sister publication, Oil & Gas Financial Journal (OGFJ). After OGFJ ceased publication in 2017, she joined Oil & Gas Journal and was later named Managing Editor - News. Her role has expanded into content strategy. She holds a degree from Texas Tech University.